Freaky Friday
by kelbebop-phoebenpiper
Summary: The students of East High get to walk a mile in each other's shoes during a school-sponsored Freaky Friday event. Part of our Extra Innings series, following Back To School. Chapter 5 added 02/05/09.
1. Chapter 1

**Freaky Friday -- Part 1** by kelbebop and phoebenpiper

The morning bell rang and Ms. Darbus swept into the room with a grand flourish, her fringed scarf trailing behind her. "Cell phones away! It's time to embark on today's learning adventure."

Taylor saw Ryan sigh and flip his cell phone shut. Leaning over to slip the phone back into his messenger bag, he grinned at the boy seated next to him. "Guess we'll have to do it the old-fashioned way," Taylor heard the blond boy whisper before scribbling a quick message on a scrap of paper and sliding it onto Chad's desk.

"I'll take that, Mr. Evans," Ms. Darbus declared, snatching the note and crumpling it in her hand. "And that'll be 30 minutes detention for you and Mr. Danforth." She raised a hand, cutting off Chad's sound of protest. "Unless you'd rather make it 45 minutes, Mr. Danforth? No passing notes in my class. You know better than that. Both of you." She gave Ryan a pointed look, causing him to blush and mumble sheepishly, "Sorry, Ms. Darbus."

Satisfied she'd made her point, Ms. Darbus turned on her heel to walk back to the front of the classroom. Ryan glanced over at Chad, offering him an apologetic smile, and Taylor couldn't help but smile herself -- how could she have been so blind for so long, she wondered.

Tossing the crumpled paper into the trash can next to her desk, Ms. Darbus continued, "Now, class, as you are no doubt aware, this coming Friday is the 13th day of October. While many view Friday the 13th as the unluckiest day, we're going to use the occasion for a special learning exercise."

There was a collective groan, which was quickly quelled by a loud clap of Ms. Darbus's hands. "Now, now…"

"Yeah. C'mon, guys, learning can be fun!" Taylor burst out excitedly. After all, she'd been dying to tell her friends about this Friday's activities for WEEKS, but the administration had sworn the Student Council to secrecy -- Taylor hadn't even told GABRIELLA! But now her fellow students were finally going to know what she'd fought so hard for.

Only her classmates didn't look excited. Instead, they all were staring doubtfully at her. Taylor suddenly remembered that not all her classmates enjoyed learning the way she did, so she added, "This learning involves costumes."

"COSTUMES!?!" Ryan and Sharpay squealed excitedly, and Taylor knew they'd be on her side.

Ms. Darbus looked happy as well. "That's right. Thanks to Ms. McKessie's efforts, the school board has decided to let this Friday be...," she paused for dramatic effect before declaiming, "Freaky Friday."

The classroom buzzed with curious speculation for a moment before Jason raised his hand to ask, "So does that mean we have to dress like Lindsay Lohan this Friday?"

Chad laughed. "What kind of learning experience is that?"

Ryan winked at his boyfriend. "You'd learn how to walk in heels."

"And how to dress like a skank," Sharpay added with a roll of her eyes.

Taylor huffed a sigh of frustration. If everyone would just let Ms. D explain…

"No, Freaky Friday does NOT involve dressing up like a character from a Disney film," Ms. Darbus clarified. "It involves dressing up like one of your fellow classmates. You will switch places with someone, and for the entire day you will essentially BE that person -- you'll wear their clothes, go to their classes, and EMBRACE their lives for the day. It's a great learning experience...and the ultimate method acting exercise," she added directly to the Evans twins, who seemed to eat it up.

Now that the other students knew what Freaky Friday meant, they were excitedly discussing their plans with each other. Taylor was relieved -- this was the response she'd been hoping for.

Leaning over to Taylor, Gabriella asked, "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"I'm sorry! I was sworn to secrecy! The administration didn't want--"

Gab giggled. "No worries! I'm not upset with you...I'm just surprised you were able to keep it from me."

Taylor smiled. "Oh, I learned to keep secrets from a master -- you," she said, nodding towards where Ryan and Chad were sharing looks across the aisle.

"I'm sorry!" Now it was Gab's turn to frantically apologize. "Ryan didn't want anyone to know, and I--"

"No worries!" Taylor insisted -- she knew how hard it must've been on Gab, trying to keep Ryan's secret all the while Taylor kept going on and on about her date with Chad! "Besides, I meant it as a compliment."

Gab blushed and coyly changed the subject. "So…do you wanna switch with me for Freaky Friday?"

"Who else?!"

"Students!" Ms. Darbus clapped her hands to bring some order back to the room. "I know this is an exciting opportunity, and I want you to make the most of it. This is your chance to be someone new for the day, to shed your own skin and step into someone else's. Now, are there any among you who are considering cross-dressing for our Freaky Friday? This would be a wonderful chance to expand your horizons and see how the other sex lives."

Sharpay and Ryan instantly raised their hands but slowly began to lower them at the sound of sniggering laughter from their classmates.

"Ah, of course, the Evans twins. Just like Viola and Sebastian in _Twelfth Night_." Ms. Darbus clapped her hands delightedly.

Ryan raised his hand again, more confidently this time. "Oh, but Ms. D?"

"Yes, Ryan?"

"Viola dressed as Sebastian, but Sebastian never dressed as Viola. So it wouldn't really be like _Twelfth Night_."

"Oh, whatever, Ryan!" Sharpay sighed, rolling her eyes. "So you'll be drag-queen Mercutio from the Baz Luhrmann _Romeo and Juliet_ instead. You happy now?"

Chad turned to Ryan and said, "So you really WILL learn how to walk in heels!"

Ryan smiled smugly back. "I already KNOW!"

Taylor couldn't help but laugh at Chad's shocked expression.

----

Ryan walked from the shower back into his bedroom, a towel slung low around his waist. Shutting the door behind him, he made his way over to his dresser and rifled through his underwear drawer. Realizing that these were going to be the only clothes of his own that he would be wearing today, he took his time deciding.

Finally settling on a classic pair of white Calvin Klein briefs -- not only comfy, but also unlikely to show through the pink cotton twill skirt he'd be wearing -- Ryan casually tossed the wet towel onto his bed.

"A little cold this morning, Ryan?"

Ryan yelped and self-consciously held the briefs in front of his naked body. "Shar! What the hell are you doing in here?"

"I'm picking out what to wear at school today," she said matter-of-factly, adjusting the tie of her bathrobe.

Ryan heaved a sigh. "Didn't you decide that last night? Several times?"

"I changed my mind. I decided the skinny jeans were a bad idea. I'm feeling all bloated today."

"Eww! Too much information, Shar!"

"Look who's talking," Sharpay quipped, arching an eyebrow at her naked brother.

"It's MY bedroom. I'm allowed to be naked in here!" he argued, taking a moment to pull on his briefs anyway.

"Oh, is THAT why Chad always wants to hang out in your room?" Sharpay grinned wickedly. "Silly me, thinking you were talking about video games when you said you two would be up in your room playing with your Wii."

"Oh, ha ha, Shar," Ryan said as he felt his cheeks burn.

Sharpay merely smiled knowingly and turned back to scrutinizing her brother's wardrobe. "You know, Ryan," she said, holding up a pair of flower-print trousers, "if I wore these today, no one would believe they were men's pants."

"Hey!" Ryan said defensively, snatching the hanger from her. "Yes they would! These pants totally go with my new hat!"

"My point exactly," Sharpay smirked as she grabbed the pants from her brother to hang them back in the closet.

Her voice was muffled as she buried her head in a rack of shirts. "Ryan, your wardrobe is out of control. I think it's time for an intervention."

She re-emerged, holding aloft a black and white cow-print western shirt, complete with fringe. "Why do you even own this...this monstrosity?"

"YOU made me get it!" Ryan exclaimed indignantly, his voice rising in pitch.

"You take that back! I would never!"

"You did so! You said it would go with your outfits back when you got that crazy idea to enter the Miss Rodeo New Mexico Princess pageant!"

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Ugh, don't remind me. That was before I found out that cocktail dresses were 'unacceptable.' What kind of pageant doesn't have an evening gown competition?" She looked disdainfully at the shirt in her hand before tossing it to the floor. "We'll have a ritual burning later to destroy all the evidence of that debacle."

"Oh, here you are, Kitten. I've been looking for you."

Ryan flushed and attempted to hide his near-nudity from the new arrival in his bedroom. "Moooooommmm!"

Mrs. Evans laughed as she ruffled her son's hair affectionately. "Oh sweetheart, it's not like I've never seen you in your underwear before!"

Ryan knew this was true but couldn't help feeling embarrassed. "What do you want, Mom?" His voice sounded much harsher than he'd intended.

Mrs. Evans smiled warmly. "I just wanted to let you both know that your breakfasts are getting cold. And shouldn't you be dressed for school by now?"

Sharpay groaned. "How can I possibly get dressed in this disaster area?" she wailed, gesturing to the neatly-hung racks of designer clothing in Ryan's closet. "The governor should declare a State of Emergency."

Ryan had finally had enough. "That's it, Shar! Get out! Go get dressed in your own room!"

"But I need an outfit!"

"Just wear the stupid outfit you picked out last night!"

"Now, my darlings," Mrs. Evans said soothingly, "It's much too early to fight." She laid a hand on Sharpay's shoulder, gently leading her towards the door. "Let's give Ducky some privacy and you can show me what you're going to wear."

Ryan followed his mother and sister to the door and shut it behind them. With a glance at the alarm clock on his nightstand, he realized he'd better hurry. After all, he still had to put on pantyhose!

---

Exiting the bus, Kelsi self-consciously pulled down on the basketball uniform she was wearing, having second thoughts about choosing Zeke as her Freaky Friday partner. Of course, it was too late to turn back now, so she reached into her bag and pulled out the folded piece of paper with Zeke's schedule on it.

Perusing it, she realized she couldn't wait until she was a senior so her schedule could be filled with electives. Not that she'd pick the same ones as Zeke: Weight Lifting, Advanced Home Ec, Theatre Shop. Kelsi smiled, guessing that Zeke had only signed up for that last one so he could spend more time near Sharpay.

Kelsi sighed -- if only there was a class that would let her spend more time near Jason.

"Hey, Zeke!"

Kelsi heard a voice calling across the lawn and looked up, eager to see how the clothes she'd picked for her partner looked, before realizing the call hadn't been to the REAL Zeke but to her instead.

"Yo, 'Zeke'!" Jason greeted as he and Kim hurried up to her, each wearing the other's basketball uniform. "Gimme five!"

Jason held up his hand as he would for the REAL Zeke, which meant that Kelsi had to jump up in the air to hit it.

Jason laughed. "Man, I never realized how SHORT you are, Kels! Zeke's uniform looks like a DRESS on you!"

Kelsi blushed and stared down at her feet, not knowing what to say.

Meanwhile, Kim smacked Jason on the shoulder. "It doesn't look bad," she scolded her boyfriend before turning and smiling at Kelsi. "You look cute, Kelsi. Really."

But Jason had turned to Kim, a confused look on his face. "I didn't say it looked 'bad'; I just said it looks like a dress."

Kim shook her head, rolling her eyes.

Desperate to get away from the couple, Kelsi asked, "Where'd you get the nametags?"

"Oh, you mean these?" Jason asked, pointing to the sticker on his shirt that boldly announced "KIM KLAPP" in thick red marker. "We got them inside."

"There's a StuCo table where you have to sign up," Kim explained, helpfully pointing up the steps to the front door. "Gabri--I mean 'Taylor'," Kim corrected with a smile, "will give you the paperwork you need."

Kelsi had no idea what sort of paperwork would be needed, but she didn't want to wait around and ask. "Oh, I better go, then," she said quickly, thankful for an excuse to get away from her crush and his girlfriend. "See you later."

"Yeah, see you…'Zeke'," Jason called after her, laughing as he added the name.

Kelsi rushed up the stairs to East High. The sign-up table was hard to miss -- it was practically blocking the door! Above the table hung a large banner proclaiming "Freaky Friday -- Sign Up Here" and behind the table sat several students, all wearing nametags similar to Jason's and Kim's.

"Hey, 'Zeke'." Kelsi was cheerfully greeted by a girl in a blazer and short tie, sitting at the table holding a clipboard. "Looking good!"

This was followed by a very un-Taylor-like giggle and a thumbs-up.

Kelsi smiled. "Thanks...uh...'Taylor'," she laughed, finding it hard to call her friend by the name on her nametag. "So Jason and Kim told me that I had to come here and sign up?"

Gabriella nodded and passed some paperwork to Kelsi. "You can start filling this out, but you'll have to come back with Zeke in order to turn it in."

Kelsi glanced down the at forms, wondering what exactly they were for.

Gabi must've noticed her perplexed look for she quickly explained, "The last time they had a Freaky Friday, which was long before WE were at East High, half the students used the excuse of 'switching schedules' to skip the entire afternoon. So in order to get the administration to go along with another Freaky Friday, Student Council promised they'd get all the participants to sign an agreement, saying that if either partner skips class, they'll BOTH get detention."

"Phew!" Kelsi said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I'm glad Zeke's my partner so I won't have to worry about that."

"Won't have to worry about what?" Zeke asked cheerfully, bounding up behind Kelsi.

She turned to look at her partner and smiled. She'd known that none of her clothes would fit the buff athlete, so she'd raided the theatre costume shop for clothes that looked like something she'd wear. Zeke now stood before her in a maroon velvet suit jacket, a white tuxedo shirt, army green cargo pants, and a black bowler hat. Kelsi smiled at the effect, glad that the outfit mostly fit.

"Hey, 'Kels' -- love the hat!" Gabi enthused, smiling up at the new arrival to the table.

"That's the only thing that's actually mine," Kelsi confessed with a grin.

Zeke nodded. "And the Converse are mine -- surprisingly, the costume shop didn't have any shoes in size 13."

Gabi giggled. "Yeah -- SURPRISINGLY."

Kelsi handed the paperwork to Zeke, explaining, "We've got to fill this out."

As he took the form from her, the first bell rang.

"You better hurry," Gabi suggested. "You don't want to be late for homeroom -- Ms. Darbus makes Zeke wear the 'Dunce' cap when he's late."

Kelsi looked up at Zeke, who shrugged and nodded. Suddenly Kelsi found herself dreading the day ahead!

---

END OF PART 1 – TO BE CONTINUED IN PART II


	2. Chapter 2

**Freaky Friday, Part II** by kelbebop and phoebenpiper

Chad glanced at the door for what seemed like the zillionth time, wondering when Ryan would arrive.

"Yo, Bolton!"

It took a moment for Chad to realize that it was Troy's voice that had spoken and another moment to realize Troy was talking to him!

"Uh...hey...Danforth," Chad answered with a laugh, feeling silly for calling his friend by his own name. He tugged absently at the hem of Troy's basketball jersey. "What's up, dude?"

"Oh...not much," Troy answered with a crooked grin. "I almost missed the bus 'cause I was doing my hair."

"Oh yeah?" Chad challenged. "Well, it took me HOURS to get this carefully tousled, just-out-of-bed look." Chad fluffed his own curls, giving Troy a teasing grin.

"Your hair looks perfect, Troy -- just like you."

Chad stared blankly at Taylor, who batted her eyelashes as she flashed him a sappy grin.

Troy grabbed her wrist, exclaiming, "Hey, I gave this bracelet to...." Troy trailed off, embarrassed, as he let go of Taylor's wrist. "I mean, g'morning, Gab!"

Taylor nodded. "Morning, Chad," she said pointedly to Troy before turning back to the REAL Chad, her voice sickeningly sweet as she added, "And good morning, Troy."

Finally having caught on, Chad puffed out his chest and lowered his voice as he said, "'Morning, babe."

"'Babe?!'" Troy and Taylor repeated in unison.

Chad shrugged. "Baby doll? Sugar Lips?"

Taylor sighed in mock exasperation, unable to hide a teasing grin. "Troy," she cooed, "Wildcat, you always call me Honey Bear, don't you remember?"

Chad grinned, suddenly hearing Troy's voice in his head calling his girlfriend by this very endearment. "Oh yeah, Honey Bear," he said, placing heavy emphasis on the nickname. "How could I forget? I started calling you that after we took that science class field trip to the honey farm."

Taylor grinned triumphantly. "No, you started calling me Honey Bear after you took me to Build-A-Bear for my birthday last year."

A melodic giggle sounded behind them, and they all turned to see Gabriella taking a seat at Taylor's desk.

"Actually, you're both wrong--"

Troy cut her off before she could explain. "Good morning, TAYLOR," he said pointedly, emphasizing her identity for the day.

"Yes, good morning to you, Chad. I was just about to recall how my best friend Gabriella called me at one a.m. to tell me all about Troy's sweet new pet name for her."

Chad noticed Taylor's face turning red, obviously embarrassed that she couldn't recall the details of that important phone call. His curiosity now piqued, and knowing he would never get the story from the real Taylor, he asked Gabriella eagerly, "So c'mon, Tay, what's the scoop?"

Before Gabriella could answer, the bell rang. The classroom erupted into chaos as the students scrambled for their respective alter-ego's seats.

Chad noticed Kelsi standing awkwardly in the open doorway, looking lost. He helpfully pointed her in the direction of Zeke's desk. Kelsi gave Chad a grateful smile and stepped out of the doorway just in time to avoid being over-run by Ms. Darbus's grand entrance.

"Good morning, my darling doppelgangers," she announced. "I trust you are all looking forward to getting into character so that you may live this unique experience to the fullest."

As Chad rolled his eyes, he realized he WAS 'getting into character' -- he knew Troy found Darbus's speeches as annoying as he did.

Particularly this morning, when he had something much more important on his mind: where on earth were Ryan and Sharpay?

"While today should be a fun experience, it should also be enlightening," Ms. Darbus continued grandly. "Walking a mile in another person's shoes can be a humbling yet enriching opportunity. Yes, Jason? I mean, 'Kim'?"

"I didn't know we had to walk a mile," Jason stated, a confused look on his face. "I thought we just had to go to all their classes."

Everyone in the classroom groaned. Although he was dressed as Kim, the comment was pure Jason.

Ms. Darbus continued unabated. "The mile, Jason, is a metaphorical one, referring to life's great journey. The road not taken--"

The door to the classroom burst open as Sharpay's shrill voice scolded, "I TOLD you not to take that road, that…SHORTCUT! If you'd listened to ME, we would've been here on time! And I don't know why you insisted on driving in the first place!"

"Because it's MY car, RYAN, remember?" Ryan retorted in a dead-on impersonation of his sister.

'And since when has Sharpay EVER listened to Ryan?' Chad thought to himself with a smirk.

"Ryan and Sharpay Evans, please take your seats. I will see you both in detention this afternoon."

Sharpay sighed dramatically and adjusted her pink plaid fedora. "Detention. Great. See what driving the speed limit gets you?"

As the Evans twins bickered all the way to their seats, Chad smiled to himself as he took in their outfits. He'd heard the girls talk about how high heels made their legs look good, but seeing Ryan now, he finally understood what they meant. Chad was actually a bit disturbed at how turned on he was by Ryan's shapely calves!

Almost as disturbed as he was at the sight of Sharpay dressed in Ryan's clothes. He knew the particular shirt she was wearing extremely well, having SLOWLY unbuttoned it one evening in an attempt to drive Ryan crazy. While he'd succeeded at just that, he'd also succeeded in developing his own Pavlovian response to the colorful pattern -- and it wasn't the sort of response he wanted to have when looking at Sharpay! Chad tore his eyes away from her and stared down at his desk, trying to imagine an ice-cold shower.

Ms. Darbus returned to her speech about journeys and roads and life and...actually, Chad wasn't really sure what she was talking about, but her boring tones seemed to soothe his savage beast. He exhaled a sigh of relief and finally looked up once again.

Ryan must've been keeping an eye on his boyfriend, for as soon as Chad lifted his gaze, Ryan immediately waggled his pink polished fingers to get his attention. Batting his mascara'd lashes, Ryan curled his glossed pink lips in a coy smile and cooed, "Morning, Troy."

Since he was supposed to be acting like Troy today, Chad knew the correct response would've been to smile politely and quickly look away. But Chad couldn't help grinning back and holding Ryan's gaze. If homeroom was any indication, this was definitely going to be an interesting day.

**END OF PART II**


	3. Chapter 3

Freaky Friday -- Part III

by phoebenpiper

It took Kelsi the entire passing period to find the right hallway, and she was still searching for the right classroom when the bell rang. Finally tracking down the correct room number, she rushed inside, hoping Zeke wouldn't get in too much trouble for her tardiness.

As the door slammed shut behind her, all eyes in the room turned to her.

"Sorry," Kelsi mumbled under breath, feeling very exposed as the teacher -- Mrs. Cavanass, according to Zeke's schedule -- scornfully looked her up and down.

"Glad you could bother to join us today, 'MS. Baylor'," Mrs. Cavanass scoffed before turning to the rest of the class to comment snidely, "But at least we won't all die of testosterone poisoning today!"

As the students laughed at her expense, Kelsi fought the urge to run from the room. Instead, she looked around the strange classroom, taking in the numerous kitchen bays with their individual sinks and ovens. The students -- all girls, Kelsi noted -- were seated on high stools at the counters. Eventually her eyes came to rest on an empty stool, and she noticed the goth girl next to it nodding her over.

Kelsi hurried across the room to take her seat as Mrs. Cavanass continued, "As I was saying, before I was so RUDELY interrupted, since there are so many visitors to our class today, I thought we'd make something that doesn't require knives or ovens." She began walking by the bays, placing a sheet of paper on the counters as she explained, "So we'll be making refrigerator cookies today, which should be ready by lunch."

The girl who had nodded Kelsi over whispered to her, "That's the only reason to take this class -- the 'homework'." The girl winked, rubbing her tummy, and Kelsi couldn't help but laugh.

"'Ms. Baylor', do you have a comment you want to share with the class?!"

"What?!" Kelsi felt like a deer in the headlights. "No. I didn't…it wasn't…."

"Save it for detention, 'Ms. Baylor'," Mrs. Cavanass said. "You can regale me with excuses after school, when you come in to clean the ovens and scrub out the refrigerators."

Kelsi wanted to protest but was sure it'd only make things worse. So she just sat there quietly, hoping she could survive the rest of the class period without completely ruining Zeke's reputation.

---

Taylor walked out of the locker room and stood awkwardly by herself. Three years ago, she'd rejoiced on her last day of freshman P.E., knowing that she'd never again have to compete in stupid Wildcat intramurals. Yet now here she was. Taylor quietly cursed Gabriella -- why hadn't her friend bothered to get her P.E. requirement completed before now?!

Of course, Taylor knew why -- Gab had gone to so many different high schools, she'd never had a chance to fulfill her P.E. credits. Unfortunately, it meant that Taylor was now stuck in a class full of stupid freshmen she didn't even recognize.

A whistle was suddenly blown practically in her ear, making Taylor jump.

"Okay, class, let's settle down and get lined up for role call," Coach Bolton hollered. Instantly, the other students rushed to sit down in rows on the gym floor, laughing as they tried to figure out their places for today. Taylor took the logical approach and walked to the center row, knowing "Montez" would be somewhere in the middle, and started asking her classmates, "Where does Gabriella sit?"

But everyone was so caught up in their own silly confusion over their Freaky Friday seats that her question was repeatedly ignored.

Taylor was not used to being ignored, and she certainly wasn't used to being lost! After all, she was Taylor McKessie, Student Body President! She was used to being in charge and in control.

"'Ms. Montez', is there a problem?" Coach Bolton asked.

The room sniggered, and Taylor suddenly noticed that everyone else had spontaneously found their seats, leaving her standing alone in the middle of the room. She felt her face growing red and instantly sat down where she was, figuring Coach would mark her "present", even if she wasn't in the right place for role call.

Coach Bolton continued, thankfully removing the focus from her. "Due to Freaky Friday, we're gonna put off the rest of the tournament till next week."

The class gave a collective moan, and Taylor noticed several of the students glaring at her, as if it was all HER fault.

Coach raised his hands to quell the disruption. "Instead, I've decided we'll play Medic today."

This elicited a loud cheer from the freshmen, who completely drowned out Taylor's quiet moan of dispair.

---

"No no no, tenors!" Ms. Gough pounded a note on the piano, insisting, "You should be on the FIFTH, not the tonic!"

Sharpay sighed frustratedly -- singing tenor was HARD! Not the pitches themselves -- there were only a few notes that were out of Sharpay's range -- but all her life she'd sung soprano. Sopranos usually sang the melody, which meant she rarely had to actually read the music. And singing the highest part meant the audience could hear her fabulous voice over the rest of the choir.

But no one EVER heard a tenor standing out from the crowd, even though they had a much harder part to sing. Sharpay now realized that being a tenor meant lots of effort for very little payoff. Poor Ryan, she thought, stuck having to sing tenor all the time! Too bad his voice had to change.

Not that anyone would notice today! He'd been showing off his ridiculously high range over in her normal section all class period. He'd even sung the high descant in the Schubert, just because he could! Show-off!

"Tenors, let's just try your part alone." As Ms. Gough began to plunk out the tenor line, Zeke flashed Sharpay a sympathetic smile from his seat on the piano bench next to the director. Sharpay couldn't help but smile back. She wasn't sure who looked more uncomfortable -- Zeke, who'd probably never set foot in the choir room before, or Ms. Gough, who was struggling to play the piano in Kelsi's absence!

Sharpay turned her attention back to the music and sang along with the piano, concentrating hard to learn the convoluted tune so she'd be able to sing it once the other parts rejoined.

"Better," Ms. Gough said as they finished the line. "Let's add everyone else back in, starting at measure 16."

Focusing all her might on the notes on the page in front of her, Sharpay managed to sing the tenor part perfectly, as did the boys around her. Sharpay was filled with pride, pleased with herself that she'd done it so well.

However, not everyone had been so perfect.

"Altos, what happened?!" Ms. Gough asked, clearly annoyed.

As the teacher began pounding out the alto line, Sharpay felt a friendly elbow in her side.

"Now THAT'S the Ryan we know and love," Malcolm teased.

Sharpay turned and gave the boy a wary look, not sure what he was implying but ready to defend her brother if necessary.

But the boy on her other side, who was wearing a nametag proclaiming that HE was "Malcolm" for the day, explained, "Most of us tenors don't read music, so we always just follow Ryan. That's why we were so lost earlier!"

"Yeah. Without 'you'," the real Malcolm said, pointing to Sharpay's nametag, "there'd BE no tenor section."

Sharpay smiled, pleased with both her brother and herself, as Ms. Gough brought the entire choir back in.

---

As Kelsi measured out the brown sugar, she asked Zeke's cooking partner, "So why didn't you do Freaky Friday today?"

Alanna shrugged. "I don't need to experience someone else's life in order to appreciate the one I have," she stated matter-of-factly.

Kelsi nodded in understanding, causing Alanna to burst into laughter.

"I'm just joking," the goth girl explained. "The truth is, I didn't trust any of MY friends not to skip class, and I can't afford detention."

Kelsi smiled. "Makes sense," she agreed as she started to pour the sugar into the mixing bowl.

"No no NO!" Mrs. Cavaness scolded, hurrying over to Kelsi and snatching the measuring cup out of her hand. "This isn't how we measure brown sugar, 'MS. Baylor'! Haven't you ever been in a kitchen before?!"

Kelsi felt her cheeks burning as she stared down at her feet.

"Brown sugar is measured by packing it down," Mrs. Cavanass continued in a harsh tone as she demonstrated the proper technique. "See? You'd only measured out HALF a cup! Just imagine how awful your cookies would've tasted with only HALF the sugar! Now do it right!"

Under's the teacher's watchful eye, Kelsi self-consciously spooned more brown sugar out of the bag, packing it down into the measuring cup. Once the cup was full, Kelsi asked hesitantly, "Is this right?"

Mrs. Cavanass gave an annoyed sigh and stomped off.

Kelsi felt awful. "I hope Zeke doesn't pay the price for my failures today! I know how much this class means to him."

"It's not the class, it's the subject matter," Alanna pointed out as she took the measuring cup from Kelsi and started stirring its contents into the batter. "And besides, YOU'VE been paying for Zeke's 'failure' all day."

"'Failure'?" Kelsi repeated. "But Zeke's a GREAT baker!"

"Yeah, but he also happens to have a Y chromosome, and as far as Cavan-ASS is concerned, THAT'S a failure."

Kelsi was confused. "But aren't most of the world's most famous chefs men?"

Alanna nodded. "I think that's why she despises Zeke so. She KNOWS he's a better baker than her, so she punishes him for it. Why else do you think she calls him 'MS. Baylor'?"

"I thought she was just calling ME that because I'm obviously NOT a boy," Kelsi said, glancing down at the oversized basketball uniform she was wearing. "Poor Zeke!"

Alanna nodded. "Yep. Cavan-ASS is just that -- a total asswipe!"

"But that's TERRIBLE," Kelsi continued. "Zeke shouldn't have to put up with that. I mean, how can he even stand to come to class every day?" Just spending ONE day in this class was making Kelsi miserable.

But Zeke's partner shrugged as she handed Kelsi the wax paper. "In case you haven't noticed, Zeke's EXTREMELY patient. I mean, just look at his love life. Anyone else would've given up on Sharpay YEARS ago!"

Kelsi laughed. "You know Sharpay?" She couldn't imagine this goth girl, in her choppy black hair and raccoon eyes, going anywhere NEAR the perpetually pink diva.

Alanna rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding? I get 50 minutes of the 'Sharpay update' every day! 'Sharpay LOVED my eclairs!' 'Sharpay is wearing a really short skirt today -- I wished I sat in front of her in at least ONE of my classes!' 'Why won't Sharpay say yes to the Back-to-School dance?'"

Kelsi laughed. "Forget Zeke -- poor YOU!"

Alanna shrugged. "It's more entertaining than listening Cavan-ASS bitch at us. And as you said, Zeke's a great baker, which means I always get good grades…AND good food to eat afterwards."

"Well, I can't guarantee the quality of the food TODAY," Kelsi said as she started to scoop mounds of the batter onto the wax paper.

"They're refrigerator cookies -- how badly can we screw them up?"

Kelsi wished she could be as optimistic as the girl in black.

---

"'Montez', get Baumgarn! Get him!"

Taylor frantically looked across the center court line, trying to guess which boy on the other team was "Baumgarn" so she'd know who to throw the ball at. But she hesitated too long, and a red playground ball flew through the air and hit the medic on her team. Coach Bolton blew his whistle, indicating the other team had once again won.

Taylor's team regathered in a huddle and the captain, whose nametag read "Craig", started barking out orders:

"Nguyen, you be the medic again -- you're little and quick, so you're our best bet."

The small girl, who'd been the medic for their first game, nodded her assent.

"Garcia and Foster, you can still be our powerhouses up front -- you have the best aim and the strength to knock others out. Paparelli, you mind being the decoy this time?"

A skinny boy with bad acne agreed.

"As for you, 'Montez'," Craig began, turning to Taylor, "aren't you good at ANY position?"

"All you gotta do is throw the ball at people," Garcia criticized. "How hard is that?"

"How I am supposed to target the people you tell me to when I don't know anyone's name?" Taylor asked defensively. "And I TOLD you that first loss wasn't my fault -- how was I supposed to know to protect the medic? No one bothered to tell me the rules."

"That's 'cuz EVERYONE knows the rules to Medic," Foster said.

"Obviously not EVERYONE," Nguyen said snidely, nodding towards Taylor and rolling her eyes.

This sent Taylor over the edge.

"So I don't know how to play -- who cares?! You think college admissions staff are gonna care about the rules to some stupid P.E. game? Besides, I probably know more than all of you little brats put together! I mean, do you even KNOW who I am?!" Taylor couldn't believe they were treating the StuCo president with such disrespect!

Craig, however, calmly pointed to Taylor's nametag. "No matter WHO you normally are, TODAY, you're 'Montez'. And more importantly, you're a member of this team. So you better just get over yourself and start being a team player or else we won't bother rescuing you if you get knocked out. Understand?"

Taylor felt as if she'd just been slapped in the face. Being reprimanded by a lowly freshman -- it couldn't get much worse. Especially since she knew he was right.

Taylor now realized that she was used to getting her own way because all her classmates knew and respected her. But here, she was just the "new girl", who didn't know the rules or where to sit or even the names of her teammates. Taylor had only ever been the new girl once, twelve years ago, but it was a role Gabriella had played more times than she could count. No wonder Gab was always so nice and accommodating to everyone -- she was all too often in the position of EARNING people's respect instead of automatically expecting it.

"Understand?!" Craig repeated, and Taylor nodded, finally understanding far more than he knew.

---

As the bell rang, the choir members began to scatter. Zeke bounded over to Sharpay, eagerly asking, "So, what class do you have next?"

Glancing at the bowler hat on his head, Sharpay snapped, "Why do YOU care, 'Kelsi'?"

At Zeke's hangdog expression, Sharpay realized she'd been harsher than she'd meant to be. But she was tired -- she'd never worked so hard in choir before! However, she knew that was no reason to take it out on Zeke, who, like always, was just being friendly.

"Sorry, Kels," she said. "I'm not even sure what class I have next."

As she and Zeke headed for the door, Sharpay pulled her brother's folded class schedule out of her back pocket, realizing how lost she felt without a purse to carry all her stuff in. But before she had a chance to unfold the schedule, she heard a voice behind her ask, "'Ryan', aren't you going to help me rearrange the chairs for freshman choir?"

Sharpay turned to stare at her teacher. "Why would I do that?"

Ms. Gough smiled, explaining, "Because you do it every day."

Sharpay sighed -- how typical of Ryan to randomly suck up to his teachers. Though now that she thought about it, sucking up to the choir teacher wasn't such a bad idea! After all, sometimes Ms. Gough assigned solos in certain songs, and obviously Ryan must've realized this. Far be it from Sharpay to sabotage her brother's attempt to get some recognition just because she didn't want to move a few chairs!

Turning back to Zeke, Sharpay said, "I guess I'll catch you later, 'Kelsi'."

Zeke nodded. "Okay, later, Shar-- I mean 'Ryan'."

Once he was gone, Sharpay joined Ms. Gough in the middle of the room and began helping her rearrange chairs.

"I really appreciate the help," Ms. Gough said.

"No problem, Ms. Gough," Sharpay said, trying to sound polite like her brother.

"You know, you're quite a good sight-reader," the teacher continued. "Have you ever considered joining the alto section? They could really use a strong singer like you to help them stay on pitch."

Sharpay just stared, not sure whether she should feel flattered or offended. On the one hand, she'd just been complimented on her musical ability, praise that was usually reserved for her brother. But on the other hand, Ms. Gough was suggesting that Sharpay work harder merely to hide her fabulous voice in the alto section.

So Sharpay responded the only way she could: as Ryan. "No thanks, Ms. Gough -- I'm happy staying in the tenor section."

Sharpay watched her teacher's expression slowly change from confusion to understanding to disappointment.

"Very well, 'RYAN'," Ms. Gough sighed. "But if you ever change your mind…"

"I'll let you know," Sharpay finished for her. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she added, "See you later, Ms. Gough," before hurrying out of the choir room.

---

"Hey, 'Chad'!"

Troy turned around to see Sharpay batting her non-mascara'd eyelashes at him. It made him uncomfortable that she still insisted on flirting with him, even though she knew he and Gabriella had been together for months. However, some of his discomfort stemmed from the fact that he still found Sharpay cute, despite all the things she'd done to him.

"Wanna go make-out behind the bleachers?" she asked coyly.

"What?!" Troy couldn't believe that she was making such a direct pass at him! What was she thinking?!

Evidently she was thinking about the names on their nametags for she added with a smile, "C'mon, 'Chad', don't you want some quality alone time with your boyfriend?"

Troy laughed uncomfortably, pretending to play along with the joke. While he was relieved that Sharpay wasn't throwing herself at him, this wasn't much better. He didn't like to actually think about the whole Ryan/Chad relationship -- the abstract idea of them being "boyfriends" was one thing, but picturing the two boys actually "making out" made Troy a little queasy.

But since Sharpay had opened the door to the discussion, he suddenly felt the need to discuss it. After all, he had had no one to talk to about how he felt. He couldn't talk to Chad because he wanted to show his support to his best friend. And he certainly couldn't talk to Gabriella because she'd be so disappointed in him. Sharpay was different -- she herself was so blunt and forward, he suddenly felt compelled to talk to her.

"So how long have you known?" he burst out. After the words were out, though, he worried that she'd have no idea what he was asking.

"Known about 'me'?" she asked, pointing to her "Ryan" nametag. "For years, of course," she said, as if the answer were obvious.

But Troy shook his head -- maybe having this conversation on Freaky Friday was a bad idea. "No, I meant how long have you…I mean Sharpay…how long has SHE known about 'you' and 'me'?" he asked, pointing to each of their nametags in turn.

Sharpay smiled. "Oh, THAT! Sharpay's known since July or so."

"July?! How did she figure it out so soon?" Troy asked, thinking back to his own slow discovery.

"She walked in on 'us'."

Troy was horrified at the image. "Doing WHAT?!" he asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Making out during a dance lesson. It's practically all 'we' did this summer."

Troy involuntarily shuddered at the image of the two boys kissing -- it just seemed so…so GROSS!

Sharpay must've noticed his look for she asked, "And what about Troy? How is HE dealing with all of this?"

"Troy's doing okay, I guess. I mean, he loves 'me'," he said, pointing to his nametag, "loves 'me' like a brother, and he wants to see 'me' happy, so he's totally supportive of 'our' relationship. But…I don't know…I guess the whole idea of two boys kissing just…you know…kinda grosses Troy out," he finished in a rush.

While talking in the third person was kind of confusing, Troy also found it almost freeing. He had never admitted how he felt to ANYONE, and it was a relief to finally get it off his chest.

He expected Sharpay to react with some sort of protective rampage, but instead she responded with a wicked grin. "Do me a favor," she said. "Just for a moment, I want you to picture Gabriella and Sharpay kissing."

Troy wasn't sure what she was up to, but he did as he was told…and a slow smile started to spread across his face as the image took form in his brain.

"Not bad, huh?"

Not bad at ALL, Troy thought to himself.

"Now," Sharpay continued matter-of-factly, "why should THAT be any different than 'you' and 'me' kissing?"

The image in Troy's mind switched and he once again shuddered. Perhaps it SHOULDN'T be different, but somehow it was.

Sharpay must've seen his reaction for she merely commented, "You know, Troy's been very supportive so far, and Sharpay's sure he'll eventually come around. After all, Troy's a good guy." She smiled at him meaningfully, and somehow her belief in him made Troy feel better.

"Talking about how awesome 'I' am again, huh?" Chad teased as he bounded up and put an arm around his best friend's shoulders.

Troy froze in place, petrified that Chad had heard more than he should've.

But Sharpay didn't seem at all worried, merely replying, "Of course, 'Troy'. That's all we ever talk about -- how much we idolize you. In between playing Wii and making out, that is. Right, 'Chad'?" she teased, winking at Troy.

Chad laughed, and Troy relaxed, allowing himself to join in the laughter.

"So 'Troy'," Sharpay continued with a mischievous glint in her eye, "where's Gabriella? She and 'I' have a kissing scene to practice before drama class."

Although Troy knew she was speaking as Ryan, his mind once again returned to the image Sharpay had put in his head earlier.

'Maybe if I continue thinking about that image, I'll get more used to the idea of Ryan and Chad kissing,' Troy justified, hoping this thought would prevent him from feeling guilty when he returned to the image again later tonight in his bedroom.

END OF PART III


	4. Chapter 4

FREAKY FRIDAY, Pt IV

by kelbebop & phoebenpiper

The sound of the lunch bell was like music to Ryan's ears. Although he was dressed like his sister from hat to toe, his stomach was still his own, and it was growling loudly from hunger.

However, Ryan was looking forward to more than just food. He'd been sorely disappointed to discover that Sharpay shared NO classes with Troy, which meant he hadn't seen Chad since homeroom! Ryan was dying to hang out with Chad...and maybe more, if they could find someplace to be alone. He liked the way Chad looked at him in this outfit!

Ryan was getting money out of 'his' pink locker when his sister's theatrically trained voice projected down the hall: "'SHARPAY!'"

Ryan turned to see Sharpay stomping towards him, a scowl on her face.

"Yes, 'Ryan'?" he asked, wondering what he'd done wrong this time.

"Why is it I can't walk down the hall without some girl stopping to thank 'me' for 'my' wardrobe advice or the CD 'I' made her or WHATEVER? What am 'I' -- some kind of one-man Queer Eye for the Straight Girl?"

Ryan crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head at his sister's theatrics. "Well, obviously 'you' have a lot of friends. That's nothing to complain about!"

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Oh right. I forgot." In a mocking voice, she continued, "I'm Ryan Evans. Everyone likes me. I need external validation to maintain my self-esteem."

Ryan frowned, allowing himself to break character for a moment. "Ouch, Shar. Kinda harsh, don't you think?" He put a hand on his sister's shoulder. "What's wrong…um, 'Ryan'?"

Sharpay heaved a weary sigh. "I'm sorry, 'Shar'. I just…it's been a rough morning. I just can't seem to get my bearings, what with no makeup and singing tenor and not carrying a purse. And then to have all these random girls treating me like I'm their favorite little pet or something when I've never spoken to any of them before and have NO idea who they even are! Do 'I' even have any classes with them, 'Shar'?"

Ryan laughed softly. "Some of them, yeah. Don't worry, they're all nice girls. They just need a little help. You love extracurricular projects, remember?"

Sharpay's eyes gleamed, and Ryan knew she was already scheming at how she could make over the entire female portion of the East High student body in her image. "You know…you're right, 'Shar'. I owe it to these sweet young girls to help them in any way I can."

Ryan worried about what kind of monster he might be unleashing on the poor, unsuspecting girls, so he quickly tried to change her focus. "That's very generous of you, 'Ry', but you can't help any of them NOW -- it's lunchtime, remember?"

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Of COURSE I remember it's lunchtime! I may be DRESSED like you, but I'm not a total idiot!"

Ryan frowned, wondering if that was supposed to be a slam against his intellect before quickly deciding he didn't really care. All he cared about was getting some food...and seeing Chad!

***

Chad hurried to the cafeteria, eager to see Ryan in those high heels again. As he rushed in, he glanced up to the balcony where the theatre kids ate, hoping to see Ryan sitting at his usual table with Kelsi and Sharpay. Instead, 'Sharpay' was standing at the balcony railing, observing the students below as he stuffed carrot sticks into his mouth, while 'Ryan' and 'Kelsi' were eating at the table behind him.

Chad couldn't help but wave at his boyfriend before realizing that it was out-of-character -- Troy would NEVER wave at Sharpay! But obviously Ryan was willing to break character, too, for he broke out in a huge grin and gestured for Chad to come join him.

Chad took the stairs two at a time and was soon at Ryan's side.

"Hi," Chad said with a grin, not able to help checking out his boyfriend.

"Hi," Ryan grinned back.

"Oh puh-lease." Chad turned to see Sharpay rolling her eyes at them. "Since when does 'Troy' look at 'my sister' that way?"

"Since today," Ryan said, grabbing Chad by the arm and leading him out of earshot. "You have to help me," he whispered desperately into Chad's ear.

Chad laughed. "With what?"

"I need FOOD!" Ryan held up a baggie with only a few carrot sticks remaining. "Shar's making me eat like her today! She stole my lunch and forced these carrot sticks on me. I can't survive on carrot sticks! This Freaky Friday thing is gonna KILL me!"

Chad chuckled. "But doesn't your sister have her own special meals prepared for her by the cafeteria? French bottled water and gourmet salads and all that?"

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, usually. But she conveniently 'forgot' to make her lunch arrangements for today. So I'm stuck with this rabbit food while she's eating MY food." He shoved a carrot stick into his mouth, chewing furiously.

Chad smiled sympathetically. "Aww, poor baby."

Ryan pointed the last remaining carrot stick at Chad before taking a bite of it. "Dammit, Danforth, if you're making fun of me--"

"Hey, easy there, 'Ice Princess'!" Chad patted Ryan's shoulder soothingly. "Don't worry. East High's golden boy, Troy Bolton, is here to help." He held up the brown bag he'd been carrying around. "You can share my lunch."

Ryan arched a delicately-penciled eyebrow. "You'd share your lunch with me, 'Troy'?"

Chad grinned brightly. "Of course." He pulled out a sandwich wrapped in a plastic baggie, offering half of it to Ryan. "C'mon, let's find a place to sit where we can be alone while we eat."

Ryan grinned. "You've got a deal, 'Troy'. Oh, and 'Troy'?"

"Yeah, 'Sharpay'?"

"You can stop staring at my legs anytime."

***

"Hey, 'Gab'."

Taylor looked up in time to see her best friend setting down her lunch tray.

"Hey, 'Tay'," Taylor greeted back.

"So where's 'Troy'?" Gabriella asked, looking around the lunchroom as she sat down. "Don't you two usually eat lunch together?"

Taylor nodded -- she'd been thinking that herself. "I don't know where he is -- I haven't seen him since English." In fact, she'd really been looking forward to continuing their poetry discussion at lunch -- she'd been surprised at how insightful Chad could be when he put his mind to it.

The real Troy suddenly appeared, giving Gabriella a quick peck on the cheek as he sat down next to her.

Gabriella giggled. "Hey, 'CHAD' -- where's 'Ryan'?"

"Yeah, you better watch who you're kissing," Taylor teased. "You don't want to make 'Ryan' jealous." After the whole Back To School dance debacle, she understood how her presence complicated things between the two boys.

But Troy didn't seem to care. "Ah, to heck with 'Ryan'," he said as he started to tickle Gabriella. "Classes are one thing, but surely we can do what we want at lunchtime."

Taylor heard a beep from her purse and dug out her phone, confused as to who would be texting her at lunch.

"Who's it from?" Gabriella asked between shrieks of giggles as her boyfriend continued to tickle her.

"'Sharpay'," Taylor read off the screen.

Even Troy seemed surprised, though it didn't stop his tickling. "Why would Sharpay be texting you?"

Taylor clicked on the message and read aloud, "'Gabi, we need 2 practice. When R U free?' Huh?"

"Oh, she's texting as Ryan," Gabriella explained, her voice steady now that Troy had suddenly stopped tickling her. "He and I are doing a scene for Ms. Darbus's class next week."

Taylor nodded, wondering why Troy's face had turned so red.

***

"Who were you just texting?" Zeke asked as Sharpay flipped her phone closed with a wicked grin.

"Oh, no one, 'Kelsi'…just my acting partner."

Zeke nodded. He didn't really care who she was texting or why. He was just glad that he had an excuse to eat lunch at the same table as Sharpay! Even without makeup and with her golden tresses tucked under one of her brother's pink plaid fedoras, she looked beautiful. In fact, without makeup or bronzer, Zeke could see that Sharpay's nose and cheeks were dusted with pale freckles, just like her twin brother. These freckles made her big brown eyes stand out even more than usual, so much so that Zeke couldn't help but get lost in them.

His reverie was suddenly interrupted when the object of his affections reached across the table to point at his apple. "Ar'oo gon' eaddat?"

"Huh?"

Sharpay swallowed the food she was chewing and articulated more clearly, "Are you gonna eat that?"

Zeke looked down at the untouched Red Delicious Kelsi had packed for him. He knew that she'd meant well, but he preferred an organic Fuji, cold and crisp, straight from the fridge.

"Be my guest, 'Ryan'." The words were barely out of Zeke's mouth before the apple was already in Sharpay's.

"Easy there, Evans," Chad teased as he and Ryan returned to the table. "You're supposed to chew, THEN swallow."

Zeke couldn't understand a word of Sharpay's muffled retort, but he admired that even a mouth full of food couldn't dull her sharp tongue.

Ryan, however, didn't seem to have a problem understanding his sister. "Please, 'Ryan', watch your language!" he scolded, taking a seat next to her and smoothing down his skirt. "You're in the presence of a lady!"

Sharpay rolled her eyes as she crunched into the apple again, mumbling around her mouthful, "Don' see any yadies heah."

"That's for sure!" Chad laughed, pointedly giving Sharpay a once-over before sitting down next to her brother.

Sharpay glared at Chad as she swallowed her bite of apple. "What are you even doing here, 'Troy'? This is the Drama Club table, not Jock Junction. The other hoops monkeys are eating downstairs. Shouldn't you be with them? Or Pollyanna's probably all alone in the science lab, singing with the lab mice and waiting for her Prince Charming. Maybe you should go rescue her from a solitary life of diabetes-inducing sweetness."

Zeke smiled, sighing contentedly. He could listen to Sharpay's beautiful voice all day.

Suddenly a tray of cookies was placed in the middle of the cafeteria table. "Fresh from the fridge," Kelsi announced proudly.

"Cookies!" Sharpay exclaimed gleefully as she dove for the tray. "I'm STARVING!"

"Whoa there, Cookie Monster," Ryan teased, giving her hand a playful smack. "I think 'Zeke' made those for 'ME'."

"Actually, they're for everyone," Kelsi said, adding under her breath, "though I can't guarantee they'll be up to the usual standard."

Sensing her trepidation, Zeke quickly grabbed a cookie from the tray and took a bite, giving her an approving smile as he chewed. "Couldn't have done better myself, 'Zeke'."

Kelsi gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks," she said, adding, "Oh, and Alanna says 'hi'."

Zeke grinned, thinking about all the wonderful Sharpay news he'd have to share with his Home Ec partner during Monday's class.

END OF PART IV


	5. Chapter 5

Freaky Friday - part V

by phoebenpiper and kelbebop

Ryan was confused when the bell rang and the teacher remained in his seat, seemingly doing the crossword puzzle from today's paper. Ryan looked around. This seemed more like a noisy study hall than an English class.

Finally, he leaned over to whisper to his neighbor. "Excuse me, this IS Senior English with Mr. Packard, right?"

The cute red-headed boy put down his book and answered, not even bothering to keep his voice low. "Yep, you're in the right place, 'Sharpay.'"

Reminding himself that he had a boyfriend, Ryan tried not to get lost in the boy's deep green eyes. "So what's going on? What are we supposed to be doing now?"

The boy, whose Freaky Friday nametag read 'Jose', snorted. "I guess you've never had a class with Mr. Packard."

When Ryan shook his head, 'Jose' continued, "He only gives two assignments for the entire school year: one term paper in the fall and one in the spring. Then he sits on his ass up there and does crossword puzzles every day while everyone else uses the class period as a glorified study hall." He rolled his eyes and laughed. "Of course, that is, until the week before the papers are due. Then everyone crams and we actually look like a REAL English class."

Ryan wished that he had taken English with Mr. Packard instead of Ms. Black, who assigned essays every week. A 'glorified study hall' sounded like a day at the spa compared to all his writing assignments, which he struggled with.

'Jose' resumed reading his book, effectively bringing the conversation to a halt. Ryan sighed and drummed his fingertips on the desktop, bored. He hadn't brought anything to do and wondered how he was going to spend the next 50 minutes.

Ryan was just considering asking Mr. Packard if he could go to his locker to get something to work on when a typed paper covered in pink glitter pen was placed on the desk in front of him.

"Hey...since you're Sharpay for the day and you're twins and all anyway, I was hoping you could tell me what this says." The girl standing in front of his desk smiled hopefully.

Ryan stared down at the paper, then back at the girl. "What is this?" He could barely see the typewritten words beneath the handwritten pink scribbles and markings.

The girl ducked her head submissively as she confessed, "It's my chemistry lab report."

Ryan frowned in confusion. "Then why has Sharpay written all over it?" He knew that his sister was taking physics, not chemistry, this year.

"Because I suck at writing, and like, Sharpay is the resident Grammar Queen."

Ryan shook his head and chuckled. Leave it to his sister to claim yet another royal title for herself. The difference was that this time the title came with a sense of _noblesse oblige_.

"So she actually helps you?" Ryan asked, still not sure if he believed it.

"Not just me. Everybody in class. Sharpay should be getting the teacher's paycheck instead of Packard. At least we actually learn something from her."

"And she just does this out of the goodness of her heart?"

"Oh, hardly. Believe me, she makes us pay."

Ryan knew there had to be a catch.

"Not literally pay, of course. She just makes us feel like we're about this big." She held her thumb and forefinger close together. "But it's worth it for how much my grades have improved. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm going to miss Sharpay next year."

Ryan was flabbergasted. Sharpay had always helped him with his schoolwork, especially his writing, but he knew her motives for helping him weren't entirely pure. After all, they were twins, so if he looked bad, so did she. But she had nothing to gain from helping her classmates.

"I mean, how messed up is that?" the girl continued. "It's like a puppy missing the owner who kicks him, right?"

Nothing to gain except the chance to lord it over them, Ryan amended.

"So can you read this? Can you decipher her handwriting here? I can't figure out what she's trying to say."

Ryan squinted and stared at his sister's loopy handwriting in the margins of the paper. His eyes slowly widened as he realized his sister had written a particularly long-winded and scathing critique of her classmate's report.

"So you can read it?" She grinned expectantly. "What's it say?"

Ryan sucked in a breath, not wanting to read the diatribe aloud. Instead he gave a rough translation. "Um, Sharpay...I mean...'I' think you need to be more detailed and give a step-by-step explanation of what you did in lab."

At least, that's what Ryan assumed his sister meant by 'This is chemistry class, not magic potions, Hermione. There's a reason for the color change other than 'poof, magic!' but you'd never know it by reading this.'

The girl smiled thankfully. "Oh yeah! She's...I mean, 'you've' complained before about how I don't explain things well enough. I'll go fix this. Thanks!"

As soon as the girl had scurried back to her seat, another student appeared in front of Ryan's desk. "So...uh...'Sharpay'," the skater dude began, "Uh...did you bring me something today?"

Ryan stared at the boy's unkempt hair and sloppy clothes. He doubted his sister would give this boy the time of day, let alone anything else. "Who are you?" he asked.

The boy laughed. "Oh, dude, right. I'm Skylar."

"Oh. Skylar." Ryan grinned in recognition. Sharpay had shoved a paper into his hands during homeroom with instructions to give it to 'Skeezy Skylar in sixth period.' Ryan reached into his messenger bag and pulled out the paper in question.

"So...what is it?" Ryan asked as he handed the paper to the boy.

"It's my civics report."

"So why does Sharpay...I mean, why do 'I' have it?"

Skylar shrugged and laughed genially. "She says it's easier for her to just re-write it herself than to explain everything to me."

Ryan opened his mouth to comment but was struck dumb by the idea that Sharpay would go to all this trouble for someone she clearly thought so little of.

"Thanks, dude," Skylar called over his shoulder as he made his way back to his seat.

Ryan stared after him, his mouth agape. As her twin, Ryan had assumed he knew Sharpay better than anyone. But he now realized he didn't know her as well as he'd thought.

***

As he walked into the school library, Chad wondered why they were here. Mr. Medlin had left a sign on the classroom door instructing his world history class to meet in the library today, but he hadn't explained why.

Sitting down at the tables, the students curiously discussed what today's assignment might be. Finally, Mr. Medlin stood in front of the class and cleared his throat loudly. All eyes turned to the teacher.

"Today, as an introduction to our next unit, I wanted to familiarize you with the countries we are going to study. I am going to divide you into groups, assigning each group a different country. Your task for the day is to gather information to present to your classmates at the end of the period. You may use any of the resources our library has to offer, but remember, you only have 30 minutes, so please use your time wisely. We'll begin the group presentations at 2:10."

Mr. Medlin stepped up to Chad's table and stated, "This table will research India. You are free to choose any aspects of the history and culture that you wish. I'm not looking for a detailed account, just a general overview. Give me the CliffsNotes version."

As Mr. Medlin walked off, Chad turned to Troy, wondering where they should even begin.

'Jason' seemed to be thinking the same thing. "So, 'Troy', what do we do?"

When Troy didn't respond, Chad turned towards Kim, who was looking expectantly at him, not Troy. Slowly realizing that everyone was looking at him, Chad remembered that he was Troy for the day.

Chad felt uncomfortable under the gazes of his classmates. They expected him to guide them, yet he was as clueless as they were. He was so used to looking to Troy for the answers, he'd never considered that Troy might not have them. Now Chad wondered if his best friend ever felt pressured to lead even though he had no idea where to go.

"How about we..." Troy began, but was quickly cut off by Chris from the basketball team.

"Hold up, 'Danforth', we don't have time for any of your wisecracks. Let's hear what 'Bolton' has to say."

Chad gave Troy a grateful smile, appreciative of his friend's attempt to bail him out, even though it had failed. He realized that he was going to have to step up and take the lead himself.

"So...uh..." Chad began, stalling for time as his mind raced. "We don't have much time, so I think we should split up. That way we can cover more ground."

Now that he was talking, pretending to know what he was doing, the ideas were starting to flow. "Kim...I mean, 'Jason', how about you check out sports in India? Don't they play cricket or something there?" Chad remembered Jason saying what an ESPN addict Kim was, so this assignment seemed right up her alley.

Kim flashed him a smile and a thumbs-up. "I'll get right on it, cap'n." She hopped up from her chair, quickly making her way to the 700's, where the books about sports were.

Chad made a mental list of the areas they needed to cover and looked around the table at his remaining group-mates, trying to match each person with something they'd actually enjoy researching.

"Chris, how about you look up, um...military history? Like maybe the whole thing with Pakistan? Rebecca, didn't India used to be a British colony? Why don't you look that up? Paula...uh...see what you can find on religion in India? And Troy...I mean, 'Chad', find out what you can about the arts. Ryan's always talking about their movie industry."

Satisfied that his group would be covering all the basics, Chad smiled. He'd decided to leave Gandhi for himself.

Chad looked around at his table. "Okay? Everyone know what they're doing? 1, 2, 3, break!"

As everyone stood up from the table, Troy flashed Chad a smile. "Not bad, 'Bolton'. Way to take the ball and run with it."

Chad grinned in return. He was pretty pleased with himself.

***

Troy was engrossed in watching yet another Bollywood musical number on YouTube when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"C'mon dude, it's 2:05," Chad said. "We need to re-group at the table."

Troy frowned. "I thought Medlin said we had until 2:10?"

Chad nodded, already halfway back to the table. "But we have to discuss what we're going to present."

Troy nodded and reluctantly closed the browser window on his computer. He had to admit he hadn't really thought Chad was up to the task of being the group leader, but his friend had really taken to it. Troy was impressed at how thoughtful Chad's assignments had been and he realized it hadn't even occurred to him that they would need to organize their presentation before giving it to the class.

It felt nice to be one of the worker bees for once, instead of the playmaker, always calling the shots. There was less pressure this way. Also, it had given Troy a chance to immerse himself in his own research instead of worrying about everyone else's.

And he was glad Chad had assigned him the arts. Those Bollywood movies looked like a blast! Troy wondered if Ryan had any DVDs he could borrow. He knew Gabi would love the colorful musical numbers.

When Troy got back to the table, Chad was already organizing their presentation, making a quick outline. "I thought I would do a quick introduction, and then Rebecca, you can talk about India as a British colony. After that, Chris, you can talk about the military. I think that probably would tie into my section on Gandhi, which would lead into Paula's stuff on religion. Then we can finish out with the fun stuff: sports and the arts. What do you guys think?"

Troy spoke up. "Hey, what if we did the fun stuff first? That way we could get everyone's attention straight away instead of boring them to death at the beginning."

"Hey!" Rebecca objected. "My stuff isn't boring!"

"Yeah, 'Danforth'," Chris said with a smirk. "We know you just wanna go first and get it outta the way so you can slack off again. Just like always."

Both Troy and Chad protested with a loud "Hey!"

Kim laughed. "C'mon, 'Chad'. You know it's true."

As the others agreed, Troy realized that on any other day he would've been the first to concur with Chris's assessment of Chad. Troy rarely took Chad seriously, often dismissing his friend's remarks during class as mere jokes. Yet Chad had proved today that he was smarter and more capable than anyone, including Troy, had ever given him credit for. Troy made a mental note to take Chad's contributions more seriously from now on.

Just as today's 'Troy' was doing. "I think 'Chad' is right," the real Chad said. "How about we start with the arts and end with sports? That way we'll grab 'em at the beginning and leave something fun for the end. What do you guys think?"

Troy smiled and gave an approving nod to his friend as the others agreed to the change. It was obvious that the Wildcats would follow Troy Bolton's lead no matter what...even if the part of 'Troy Bolton' was being played by Chad Danforth for the day.

***


End file.
